Dare to take your toddler to China?

Come on guys, it`s not that wild a place. It`s not like you travel a few km over the border and all hell breaks loose, people snatching kids everywhere.
And at any rate, I guess the recent boy-snatching and being sold to rural families scandal stands up to the girl-snatching and being sold to rural families to marry the boys that they mostly have due to infanticide and abortion of girls. Nobody`s safe eh;)
Whether I`m in SZ or HK, I don`t let my stroller out of my sight. It must be harder with toddlers, of course, but as with anywhere, common sense and caution often prevails.

I totally agree, SZJ! Chinese people are by and large, very kind people. Just like every country has its nasty people and its great people--China has a fair share of both but you tend to notice more of the nice people there. As we've discussed previously--at least in SZ and China, people will offer to help you out if you have a cumbersome stroller or are pregnant or in any way look lost or like you could use a hand. Here in HK most of the time you have to conscript someone to help you down a flight of stairs with your stroller because there is no ramp or lift. Mainland Chinese hospitality can be pretty impressive!

thanks soooooooooooo much ladies, esp. MLBW. very well said. I agree with you that there are always good people and bad people everywhere in this world. I was born in China, so in fact I have an inborn affection for this country. I used to go to China alot, for business and for pleasure. People are very nice indeed. For me, I can go to China alone without worrying about anything.
But just that, the little one is too too precious to me, and the negative news abt kidnapping boys and girls, esp boys, are driving me crazy. My friends and family are teasing me for being such a paranoid. I am planning to venture a visit with my in-laws, so 3 adults + 1 toddler, should be ok. besides, we are going to that place where there are all the miniatures of different countries' famous spots. No way to go for shopping with my toddler.
anyway, i will NOT keep my hands off my boy!!!!!

i just returned from a shopping trip in shenzen yesterday and there were tons of kids, but for me personally i wouldn't take my child shopping there mainly because the smoking and poor air in Lo Wu. When I left there I had a huge headache from the 2nd hand smoke and felt like I had a thicky layer of dust and grime all over me. I didn't feel like my safety was threatened, but that the conditions were not where I would want my son to be if given a choice.

I am back from my Shenzhen trip with my toddler. It was great. My son enjoyed it very much. As mentioned yesterday, we went to the tourist spot - (中國民俗文化村 donno the name in English﹐ anyone can help?), so everything was quite alright. A lot of green, and good air with sunshine. He enjoyed riding on the single-rail train to cruise around the whole park). People were friendly. but for peace of mind, I still put on the baby harness for him, and he was very cooperative. I think it is quite a nice place to spend a day there. Don't miss the 19:30 free of charge show, it was magnificently superb!
and, I was surprised to see relatively clean toilets there. good job!
But, the food there was um.....very disappointing!

well.... just to let you know, we were in shatin before christmas and as we entered the "snoopyworld" playground, my hubby overheard someone pointing at my son while saying, "you could get a lot of money for him in china" in chinese....that scared the crap outta him.

Carang--that is scary. But the reality is, even people who might not say those things out loud could be thinking them. So, the best thing to do is to not assume that any stranger has you or your child's best at heart so be friendly and cautious. But, living in fear of what others might do is a crippling experience in life. I totally live by the "be wise as serpents but harmless as doves" approach. Everyone should use wisdom when it comes to their children but I refuse to let the possible intentions of others make me live in a prison of fear. Yeah, there are baby snatchers and kidnappers abundant (and my guess is that they would be hanging out in places like Snoopyworld--I mean if you want fish, you go to the ocean to fish--if you want to steal kids then you go to a place where kids are found) but not everyone is--plus, the only way those people would have been able to snatch your son if you're keeping a close eye on him would be to physically confront you--and you know how likely that is in Hong Kong, right?